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Bradford man is cleared of knife attack on partner

A man accused of attacking his partner with a knife had his court case dismissed after expert evidence showed the woman had injured herself.

Umbar Ali, 39, was accused of assaulting his partner, Shagufta Ali, in September and the case was due to go to trial yesterday at Bradford Crown Court, but instead the judge found him not guilty of the charges.

Mr Ali’s barrister, Stephen Wood, said an expert witness found injuries to Mrs Ali’s arms and face were self-inflicted and scratches to her face were made by nails, rather than a knife.

“He agreed that injuries to the complainant’s arms were all self-inflicted and injuries to her face were not caused by nails, but in any case were self-inflicted by the nature of their depth and the fact they were all linear.”

He said the CPS had therefore decided Mrs Ali was not a reliable witness.

Prosecutor Ken Green said: “He was due to stand trial today in respect of two matters going back to September of last year, ABH and theft. In due course I will be offering no evidence in respect of both those offences and asking for not guilty verdicts.

He said the expert witness reports undermined the “veracity and trust” of the witness.

Mr Wood said his client was frustrated by the situation.

“The court now knows what the truth of this case is.

“He was remanded into custody for about five months, so he’s understandably disgruntled,” he said.